DOGWOOD FAMILY 



less covered with pale hairs and borne on stout club-shaped 

 peduncles a quarter of an inch or less in length. These buds 

 stand up from the tips of the branchlets and are very con- 

 spicuous. After the leaves fall, and the red berries have 

 been taken by the birds these gray buds remain unchanged, 

 stiff and unyielding throughout the winter. 



One of the first indications of returning activity to plant 

 life is the gaping of these involucral scales at the apex of the 

 flower-bud. This happens about the time that the elm-buds 

 are beginning to swell and open, but the elm-flowers have 

 come and gone and the samaras are well grown before our 

 dogwood blossom is worthy of the name. But day after day 

 the change goes on. The involucral scales begin to enlarge, 

 unfold, grow white and at length about six weeks after the 

 first opening of the apex they become a fiat corolla-like cup, 

 three or four inches across. Each scale is now a great white 

 petal-like leaf, so like a petal that many consider it such ; its 

 rounded apex blotched and darkened by the discolored rem- 

 nants of the portion formed during the summer before. In 

 color these are usually white, sometimes, however, they are 

 pink and rarely bright red. 



Within these four, white, petaloid scales is a close cluster 

 of tiny fiowers which are the real blossoms of the tree. They 

 are yellowish green, made on a plan of four, four 

 lobes to the calyx, four petals to the corolla, and 

 four stamens ; there is, however, but one pistil. 



After our great white involucre has performed 



its duty, fostered and protected the tiny fiowers 



^. . „, until they have reached maturity, it falls, the 



Single Flower j ■> i 



of Dogwood, blossoms fade and the tiny fruit begins to grow. 

 c»™« fiori- Although there are from ten to thirty blossoms 



i^lT ,■ enlarged. . 



in each cluster rarely more than three drupes are 

 matured in any one. Some remain in a state of arrested 

 development, and cling to the branch small and green all 

 summer long. The bright, shining, scarlet fruit is beautiful 

 to look at and is finally eaten by the birds, but they exhaust 

 other resources first, for under that shining skin is a very 



172 



